Rural and Medically Underserved Population Primary Care

Catalog description

Primary Care is a field that is beloved by physicians because of the variety of opportunities offered. In rural areas, not only will primary care trained physicians work in outpatient settings, but often in emergency rooms, hospitals, specialty clinics, and urgent care centers. They also often assist in surgery and provide obstetrical and newborn care. In medically underserved urban areas, primary care physicians care for patients with a host of complicated medical illnesses. A vast array of settings exists for primary care in a medically underserved area, including rural and inner-city experiences. The primary care clinic is also a place where many office-based procedures occur including but not limited to biopsies, laceration repairs, and minor fracture treatment. Working with patients on preventive health care management, such as vaccinations, preventive screening tests and measures to prevent disease, and one on one health counseling occur during this rotation. Students have the opportunity to incorporate the “whole-person” approach, a principle valued in osteopathic medicine, and to develop their osteopathic manipulative medicine skills through clinical case-based OMM workshops. •